Making the Transition to Modernity the Muslim Malaise

Making the Transition to Modernity the Muslim Malaise

1996 3-4 March-April 17-20 Making the Transition to Modernity the Muslim Malaise (1019) It would be no exaggeration to say that, spiritually and materially, the Muslim condition today is lamentable. In all countries where Muslims and non-Muslims have co-existed, the formers have lagged behind in almost every field. The prime reasons for this are their lack of education, an ever-increasing school dropout rate and their phobia about their glorious past. In certain areas there has, of course, been an awakening in economic and educational fields. But this is mainly at the academic level and needs greater practical direction, for Muslims are still far from being on equal terms with the world’s developed nations.

What makes this seem even more deplorable is the fact of the Muslims having once enjoyed leadership in both the eastern and western worlds. We have the shining example of Cordova, the tenth century capital of Muslim Spain, the most civilized city of Europe and the most prestigious seat of learning in medieval times. It is said that the Cordova University Library had a collection of 400,000 books - more than all of Europe’s other libraries put together could muster. Culture in medieval Andalusia had reached such a high level that the Dutch scholar Dozy specially noted its near-total literacy in his memoirs. In Christian Europe, on the contrary, there were few, with the exception of the clergy and some royal families, who possessed even the rudiments of learning.

Not only in Spain and other Islamic countries, but also in India, it was Muslims who popularized public education by creating a network of madrasas – the first of its kind – dotting the entire country, in both rural and urban areas. These were open to all regardless of race, colour or faith. By the time the British arrived, there were over 100,000 madrasas in Bengal alone, which is indicative of the overall pattern. Hindus as well as Muslims flocked to these schools on two counts: one, the lack of alternatives, and two, their curricula, which did not favour any particular community. They simply catered for the needs of the time, imparting a basic knowledge of mathematics, philosophy, logic, history, geography and languages.

Yet to Islamists, education without religion is an anomaly. Throughout the Islamic world – Turkey, Egypt, Iran, India, etc. – large and small madrasas have provided primary or secondary religious education and have trained divinity students, but till today, they impart no general education. The present curriculum was prepared in the eleventh century for the Nizamiyah Institution of Higher Learning, founded in 1056-7, by Nizam al-Mulk, the enlightened Persian vizier of the Saljuq Sultan Alp Arsalan. Whatever the glories of this institution (at the time the most advanced institute of learning, whose organization, it is said, was copied by the early universities of Europe [Reuben Levy, A Baghdad Chronicle, p. 193, Cambridge, 1929]), much water has flowed down the Ganges since then, and life does not stand still for any community. Society itself is in a constant state of flux. But Muslim thinking, still basically medieval, abhors the notion of revising or updating this centuries-old curriculum. They close their eyes to the fact that if they fail to keep up with the times, they will become like stagnant pond water-without life, freshness or fragrance.

Had present-day Muslims made the same contribution to the noble cause of education as their illustrious ancestors, they would certainly have merited the same advantages as others enjoy today. If, today, they are backward, they must blame not only their lack of knowledge and awareness, but also their failure to appreciate that in this world of cause and effect, nothing worthwhile can be gained without hard work, sacrifice and self-abnegation.

Before seeking the cause of Muslim decline, let us first examine the factors that contributed to the greatness and advancement of Islam.

Muslim advancement springs from Islam itself, which, in the 6th century AD, brought together and consolidated the scattered tribes and races of Arabia, drawing them out of barbarism and into civilization, and replacing their hard headedness with mutual love, sympathy and respect. Today the inspiring force that spurred these early Muslims to achievement has largely disappeared-like the fading lines of a tattoo – along with the ardent devotion of their ancestors. This is a spirit which has now been transferred to other communities.

It is high time community leaders produced a fresh intellectual climate in which Muslims may make up for lost time. If narrow theological concepts are not to bar the way to modern education, the Community shall have to change its attitude. It shall have to meet this revolutionary challenge in its educational programmes, for therein lies the panacea for all the ills of contemporary Muslim society.

Only when Muslims shake off their antipathy for modern education will they be drawn into the national mainstream where they may contribute to the building of the nation. Failing this, progress, prosperity and social status will remain mirages. It will take a strong social and moral force to accelerate the transition from the medieval to the modern age, and in this, Muslims would do well to accept as their model Japan, with its 100 per cent literacy.

All Muslims should strive towards economic independence. To this end, a technical education – in addition to modern literature and philosophy – is a must. This should be the focus of the greater part of their energies, but, having lagged so far behind for so long, Muslims need more encouragement to excel in this field. Greater stress needs to be laid on how keen on learning Muslims had always been in the days of their ascendancy (The Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. II, emphasises the important contribution of Arab science and philosophy to the intellectual development of Europe). Awareness of past intellectual feats should surely act as a powerful stimulus to Muslims to modernize their education and establish for themselves a place of honour in the world of today.

Whatever course they choose to pursue, Muslims must respect the history, culture and way of life of their fellow countrymen, and must balance their precious liberty to be themselves against an appreciation of the importance of their integration into national life.

(Farida Khanam)